Military Academies Still Hostile to Women, Panel Says

Hostile attitudes and inappropriate treatment of women persist at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and at the Naval Academy, a Pentagon task force said Thursday.

The panel called for better training of future officers at the academies, saying the value of women in the military should be better emphasized. It said present training on sexual harassment and assault issues is inadequate, resulting in misunderstandings by cadets and midshipmen about how to obtain medical care, counseling and legal assistance.

“The sexual harassment and assault training programs at both academies are not effective in conveying key concepts,” the task force said in a report issued Thursday. The study’s authors included several military officers and experts on sexual harassment and assault issues.

The “Report of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence and the Military Service Academies” is the latest to deal with sexual issues and cultural attitudes at those academies after a sexual assault scandal at the Air Force Academy surfaced in January 2003.

Other studies have focused on the Air Force Academy, and its leadership has been replaced. But Congress also requested a look at West Point and Annapolis, Md.

The new study credited both academies with making progress in addressing some sexual harassment and assault issues, particularly in improving services to victims. But it called for putting more women in leadership roles at the two academies and said more women should be admitted as cadets and midshipmen.

“Some research shows that a ‘critical mass’ can make a difference in creating an environment that has a markedly positive effect on the acceptance and integration of women in a mostly male community, resulting in decreased incidence of sexual harassment and assault,” the report said. “Admissions standards and service needs should not be compromised in this effort.”

The task force said harassment at the academies included jokes and offensive stories of sexual exploits, derogatory terms for women, offensive gestures, repeated and unwanted propositions for dates or sex, and offering to trade academic favors -- like a positive evaluation -- for sexual acts.

Delilah Rumburg, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and a co-chairwoman of the task force, blamed many of the problems on the sexually permissive civilian culture that produces high school graduates who become cadets and midshipmen.

The task force also called for new military law aimed at protecting the confidentiality of cadets and midshipmen who are victims of sexual misconduct when they speak with medical personnel or victims’ advocates.

Task force members also said allegations of sexual misconduct were only rarely prosecuted to the maximum extent.